Any photographers out there?

[GlenBarrington]

There is an interesting discussion on eBooks going on at DPReview, kind of odd for a photo based website that obsesses about photo gear!

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=37023222

[boxcorner]

Someone should tell them

[GlenBarrington]

I already did!

[Skydog]

I've been a DPR member for about ten years and it's the first discussion I've seen on ebooks.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I've been a DPR member for about ten years and it's the first discussion I've seen on ebooks.

Cool! I'm mostly in the Olympus DSLR forum with the name of glenbarrington. Where do you hang out there?

[terraskye]

Thanks for the thread link! I'm getting my 1st SLR camera next month and and dpreview has been gold in helping me pick it out

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by terraskye

Thanks for the thread link! I'm getting my 1st SLR camera next month and and dpreview has been gold in helping me pick it out

DPR is not exactly know to be member friendly. In fact it's rather clique-ish with fanboi's run amok. If you are hunting DSLR info look to http://www.imaging-resource.com or http://www.photozone.de or just use Google to find a bunch of sites which cater less to the advertisers which support the site. Basically you won't find any low rated DSLR's from Canon or Nikon or other any other major advertisers. Not that it matters but Amazon owns DPR. And the brands which do not advertise much but offer gear as good as the big spenders will usually be glossed over or panned.

The sister site to Imaging Resource is SLR Gear (http://www.slrgear.com/) with decent reviews on a lot of lenses and some user ratings.

Plus it is always good to have multiple resources. Also if you are looking at a Canon visit:

POTN: http://photography-on-the.net
Fred Miranda: http://www.fredmiranda.com (non-denominational photography site and a great resource as in general)

Also a lesser know site is The Motley Pixel (http://www.motleypixel.com) they have had decent examples of lenses in the past but did sort of drop off it seems but I haven't checked back in a while.

There is a marginally OK site for Pentax shooters at: http://www.pentaxforums.com but they have become a marginal site to my thinking and preferences. While I shoot Pentax again, I still hang out on POTN more as the people are nice and want to help now matter what brand you use. Dedicated Nikon sites tend to be odd ducks period.

Here is a good site for learning DSLR stuff via video: http://www.learnmyshot.com

And there are oodles of dedicated groups over on http://www.flickr.com for every aspect of photography you can want some are good others are, well, not to much. It is still a nice place to view photos to get ideas.

[terraskye]

Thanks for the links

At 1st I was pretty much set on a Canon Rebel T-something lol but after some advice was pretty much set on a Sony Alpha 33 something but now have my heart set on a Nikon D90.

The Sony does have more fps capability than the Nikon but I like the photos much better with the Nikon that I've seen on various flickr photo pools.

I decided against the Rebel as I was told they were more suited for those that have Macs and I'm way way PC

Originally Posted by snipenekkid

DPR is not exactly know to be member friendly. In fact it's rather clique-ish with fanboi's run amok. If you are hunting DSLR info look to http://www.imaging-resource.com or http://www.photozone.de or just use Google to find a bunch of sites which cater less to the advertisers which support the site. Basically you won't find any low rated DSLR's from Canon or Nikon or other any other major advertisers. Not that it matters but Amazon owns DPR. And the brands which do not advertise much but offer gear as good as the big spenders will usually be glossed over or panned.

The sister site to Imaging Resource is SLR Gear (http://www.slrgear.com/) with decent reviews on a lot of lenses and some user ratings.

Plus it is always good to have multiple resources. Also if you are looking at a Canon visit:

POTN: http://photography-on-the.net
Fred Miranda: http://www.fredmiranda.com (non-denominational photography site and a great resource as in general)

Also a lesser know site is The Motley Pixel (http://www.motleypixel.com) they have had decent examples of lenses in the past but did sort of drop off it seems but I haven't checked back in a while.

There is a marginally OK site for Pentax shooters at: http://www.pentaxforums.com but they have become a marginal site to my thinking and preferences. While I shoot Pentax again, I still hang out on POTN more as the people are nice and want to help now matter what brand you use. Dedicated Nikon sites tend to be odd ducks period.

Here is a good site for learning DSLR stuff via video: http://www.learnmyshot.com

And there are oodles of dedicated groups over on http://www.flickr.com for every aspect of photography you can want some are good others are, well, not to much. It is still a nice place to view photos to get ideas.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by terraskye

Thanks for the links

At 1st I was pretty much set on a Canon Rebel T-something lol but after some advice was pretty much set on a Sony Alpha 33 something but now have my heart set on a Nikon D90.

The Sony does have more fps capability than the Nikon but I like the photos much better with the Nikon that I've seen on various flickr photo pools.

I decided against the Rebel as I was told they were more suited for those that have Macs and I'm way way PC

happy to help. The thing is almost any DSLR is a good bit of gear these days. Remember this, you are buying into the system so look beyond the name on the body and into the overall system itself.

Something to ponder is the Pentax bodies are nice in that the K20D, K7 and new K5 are all weather sealed bodies...the K5 is nice but a bit on the spendy side and not without questions yet...it does use the same sensor as the A33/A55 from Sony as well as the Nikon D7000 (another nice new body that is sealed but not without it's own early model issues).

Decide what you like to shoot pictures of...good Nikon glass is expensive, but their flash system is superb...I don't get the equating of the Canon Rebel's to Mac vs. PC...hehehehe...but the Canon 60D has great video controls if you are thinking of shooting video. It also has a nice articulated LCD on the back.

I chose Pentax for the sealed bodies and sealed DA* glass as well as a couple decent WR (weather resistant) DA lenses...plus I grew up shooting primes (non-zoom lenses in case ya dunno... ) But the Pentax DA* SDM (their top of the line AF system) has enough problems with failure to be of concern so extended warranties are needed if you went that direction. but overall Pentax has a very good set of lenses to use...BUT, they have the worst AF system save for the new K5.

Canon and Nikon have the best AF systems...best for action that Canon has to offer is found in their 7D but it is not cheap at around $1300-$1500 for the body alone.

Sony has a new body due out real soon now, their A580 which looks pretty nice and might be worth it to your. but like Nikon their better zoom lenses are not inexpensive.

Moving to a DSLR today is a daunting task and if you really think you are going to make it a full-time hobby, spend a lot of time deciding what your goal is...while the D90 is a nice camera, it is also not all that well made and has a very plastic feel to it. It's really important to try and visit a major camera store near you to handle as many bodies as you can. I know Samy's is going to again carry Pentax (I keep mentioning them because they actually build an excellent consumer grade body in the K-x or K-r bodies but is fast AF is needed they will represent a challenge for say, shooting kids playing or such things). And as a rule ignore any sales person at whatever camera store you visit...they sell what they are told to sell.

But is you like the idea of small and compact but with interchangeable glass you won't get that with the Canikon's. But the A33/A55 from Sony are nice and compact but new as well...still as I started, they are all good cameras if you learn to use them and don't intend on using them in "green box" (full auto Point and shoot) mode look down the road and also don't be afraid to buy a generation or two out of date if the price is right. The value of a body drops but good glass won't drop as fast and in many cases can appreciate, like my full set of Pentax silver FA limited lenses and some very hard to find FA* glass...

No matter what have fun trying things out...and if you are looking at Nikon take a long look at the new D7000 as it is weather sealed, though there are not many less expensive weather sealed lenses from Nikon yet. But it is an excellent value among the newest bodies this year. Thing is it does have problems for a subset of people...it is also more expensive than the D90 but not that much more. The D300s is also an excellent body if you have the budget though it is due for a replacement soon which means a price drop.

Sigh...I have rambled on enough about cameras, I'll stop, promise. Do think about the fact you aren't buying a camera but a photographic system which matters if you stick with the hobby. And the ability to grow within the system that is important and different for everyone.

Oh WAIT I see you are in Canada...in that case DO LOOK INTO PENTAX. London Drug carries Pentax as does Henry's so you can maybe handle some of their different bodies and see how great their prime lenses are as well as their sealed zooms to mate with the K5 or even the older K20D or K7...just remember the whole extended warranty on and SDM lenses from Pentax though in Canada you get a 2-yr warranty on Pentax lenses. Soooo, I thought I would edit and add this, especially given the weather issues you might run into now and then.

[terraskye]

snipenekkid~ Thanks for the additional information I actually did speak to someone the other night at my local London Drugs He steered me to the Sony Alpha after gauging whta I'd be using it for (nature,action(cycling),video, night photography) and I like the 7fps as it was faster than the Nikon D90's.
He steered me away from the Rebel as he said the video automatically converts to a format that Mac uses (cant remember the exact .format)
We also talked about the Pentax's but I still cant wrap my head around them being anything but film cameras LOL (I learned photography on Pentaxs & Minoltas)

All my husbands photography friends/co-workers use the Nikon D5000's and seem to like them but I do like the idea of a weather sealed body for "just in case" times.

This is a serious hobby I'm hoping to get back into. I was thinking of just going back into film photography again but we really don't have a dedicated space for a darkroom.

::back to pondering::

[snipenekkid]

cool!!! If you learned on Pentax and Minolta then I could see you looking at both Pentax (now owned by Hoya) and Sony (they bought Minolta/Konica). If you have any of that old Pentax glass around the good news it will still work on any of the new bodies. If it's M42 glass you will need an adapter but that is no big deal. However the viewfinders are not close to even the ME Super (I actually loved that body!! and still have mine.) As for shooting film, yeah it's the whole dealing with a darkroom, finding film as many of your old favorite films are not made anymore and the existing options are decreasing every year. But you'll still want to look at something like Lightroom and another app like Photoshop for more advanced editing needs. But I find I use Lightroom 99% of the time in fact I stopped upgrading Photoshop at CS3 and they are on CS5 now.

About the image format oh, you were meaning the video format. I suppose he was saying that it can save something like AVI if you set it to whatever Quicktime uses as a native format but it will be a user option not set in stone. That is a totally different thing all together. I actually have yet to do ANYTHING with video on a DSLR. To me it still feels like an abomination. But some folks do amazing video with their DSLR's.

BTW, I would agree that the Rebel's are, well, not shining examples of DSLR's and they feel really cheap in my hands. I hate to say it but so does the Nikon D5000. I read the D7000 is a completely different feel, in a good way.

Cool ya went to London Drug. I spend enough time on PentaxForums.com to know there are a LOT of Pentax shooters in Canada. So that is why I knew about London Drug. If you decide to order online check out ProDigital2000 (I think they only sell via ebay but might also have a web site) as they are one of the higher volume DSLR sellers in Canada, often offering free 7-year Mack warranties on the gear they sell. That is a nice deal for sure and hard to beat. Oh, don't overlook what service for a given brand is like in Canada as this can vary greatly by country as well as regions within some countries.

For me it is also a serious hobby which is why I asked. I enjoy the challenge of shooting with prime lenses over zooms as a rule, but I grew up with primes. Unfortunately, with Pentax there are only two sealed prime lenses but both are excellent lenses. One is the DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM lense and the other is a GREAT macro that doubles as a medium tele portrait lens in the DFA 100mm/2.8 Macro. It uses the in-body screw drive for AF as opposed to the in lense SDM AF motor.

Oh, something else about both Sony and Pentax, they have in body stabilization as opposed to Canon and Nikon which use in lens stabilization (IS and VR respectively). While the in lens stabilization can be a bit more efficient, sometimes 2-stops more stabilization, the in body stabilization has the advantage of giving you stabilization for all of your lenses rather than just the lenses you spend the extra on to get the feature. See there is so much to consider I completely overlooked that aspect of the decision.

With my K20D and K5 I would say I get about 2-3 stops added ability to hand hold shots. I can reliably hand hold my 35ltd down to about 1/8th sec shutter speed. Remember the rule of thumb has always been about 1/focal-length of the lens to prevent blur from lens motion.

Anyway, the weather sealing is a conundrum for a lot of us because it also takes many of our favorite lenses out of the equation in poor weather. So ya want to be certain there are sealed lenses which not only fit your shooting preferences and style, but also fit your budget. If there are no lenses which work then the sealed body is somewhat wasted but not 100% wasted as it still helps keep out dust, except for lens changes.

I made the switch from Canon to Pentax not only because I really like the build of the body and the lenses plus the ability to use pretty much any lens made for a Pentax camera since about 1950 with stabilization thanks to that in body stabilization. I chose it over Sony for a variety of reasons not limited to the fact it's Minolta/Konica mount just does not have a lot of good legacy glass. There is also a lot of older Voightlander glass in the Pentax K-mount as well. All manual focus of course but man it's great glass.

I have to admit I also have had an eye on the Sony A55 but there aren't any solid reviews yet plus it would be yet another brand switch as there is no way I am able to afford to maintain two systems. Just too much LBA (lens buying addiction). Plus the tech used in the A33/A55 is first generation so I would likely wait until the kinks are worked out. And remember it's mirrorless so you don't have an optical viewfinder meaning it will always be a slight delay between what you see and live action. But I haven't handled one so I don't know how that lag feels.

If it helps...it took me over a year to decide on which DSLR to begin with and that was after about 7-years shooting my still trust worthy Sony DSC-S70! Heck I did not even learn about the whole over hyped megapixel thing. It's more about dynamic range and color depth than MP's. Of course you'll notice I have not even mentioned the different sensor sizes...sigh...it's just, well, it's complicated. Do feel free to PM me if you have questions. I am very neutral about brands so I would not steer you toward my preference without first pointing out that it is a personal preference over anything concrete.

It does indeed help that you are familiar with the nice compact size of Pentax bodies. Really once you hold one of the newer Pentax upper end bodies like the K10D (old and somewhat too out of date)/K20D which share the same body or the K7 or K5 (oddly the newer version of that body line). But the quality and solid feel of these bodies really can make other options feel, well, cheap by comparison. But I also liked my Canon bodies. I have handled the D90 and did not care for the feel but the D300s was not too bad. The Canon 7D is a larger body for sure but also it's a proven winner with sealing as well.

I really better stop as I will ramble on forever about this...it's fun to find someone shopping for their first DSLR after shooting film years ago. It's so much the same but so very different at the same time. One reason is the sensor size thing I mentioned earlier. Good old Wikipedia saves the day there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APS-C

All you really need to know about how the sensor influences the effective focal length of a lens, it's field of view AND the DOF at a given aperture. I added this since you want to get back into it on a serious basis...so have fun with info overload. Hope it gets easier.

I promise, my final post about this topic...I blather on too much about it...sorry.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

There is an interesting discussion on eBooks going on at DPReview, kind of odd for a photo based website that obsesses about photo gear!

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=37023222

ummm...Glen, sorry for turning your thread about people on a Photo board talking ereaders into a thread on an ereader board talking photography. Whoopsie!

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by snipenekkid

I promise, my final post about this topic...I blather on too much about it...sorry.

Blather just a tiny bit more, if you don't mind! My nephew has just bought his first DSLR -- the Nikon 7000. He's pretty excited about it and is trying to learn as much as he can about using it before he does some travelling early next year. He's also looking at buying additional lenses. Do you have any particular words of advice, or caution?

[terraskye]

Its a lot of good information and I really appreicate the fact that you have taken the time to type it out too:0

I really liked the Sony A33 but like you had mentioned, not enough current reviews though the London Drugs guy assured me he thought it would be the best for my experience level,needs and so on.

its been a very long time since I've used anything beyond a p&s camera but I for sure don't want something I'll grow out of in 2 years too.

I like the Nikons but they lenses are pricey and does throw me off. The Sony feels better in my hands then the Rebel and though.

I think so far I'm still leaning towards the Sony but I'll take a look at the Pentax K5 but I don't see them at London Drugs so I'll try Henrys this week.

I want to buy one around February so still lots of time for more research

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

Blather just a tiny bit more, if you don't mind! My nephew has just bought his first DSLR -- the Nikon 7000. He's pretty excited about it and is trying to learn as much as he can about using it before he does some travelling early next year. He's also looking at buying additional lenses. Do you have any particular words of advice, or caution?

Boy ya don't make it easy...first he made a wonderful choice on the body in the D7000. It brings a lot to the table. Now is where is gets complicated. What lenses, if any did he get with it already? Does he have a type of photography which he feels drawn toward?

Nikon's lenses are pretty, no they are the most complicated group of lenses to wade through as there are many different mounts, some old, some new some in-between. I would suggest if he wants something longish make sure to get a lens with VR (vibration reduction -- Nikon's name for image stabilization. Mind that this only refers to adjusting for lens movement during the shot and not movement of the subject, you would be surprised how often people make that mistaken assumption. ). Also I would add that to my knowledge Nikon still does not make any truly weather sealed lenses. Some have a sealing ring where the mount attaches to the body but none of their glass that I am aware of is marketed as weather sealed. But that is OK as not only are their lenses built to very tight tolerances, but also there are work arounds with special covers for the lens and camera body to help protect against the elements.

Next, how advanced is he, how dedicated is he to photography, where is he traveling...there are many factors. But most important is what does he already have. It could be a case where a couple accessories might be better than an extra couple lenses. A good travel oriented tripod and head for the tripod is a great tool if he will be shooting in nature using slow shutter speeds or panoramas. Also with a good tripod he can also make use of a certain type of filter called an ND filter which allows for very long exposures creating some really interesting shots of waterfalls, cloudy sunsets/sunrises or even a crowded public square or street. A filter called a CPL (circular polarizer is another very useful bit for his photo kit) as these can help clear up shots through glass, help get better sky color as well as block certain types of unwanted light reflections or enhance other reflections. But it depends on his interests. If he is just starting, something general purpose with maybe on really nice special lens, maybe not even a lens made by Nikon. I can think of one lens, it's new, it's made by Sigma and nobody makes a lens even close to it and that is the Sigma 8-16mm non-fisheye lens. It is really a super lens and very highly rated so far and not too spendy, about $600 which is still a lot of cash but it is a lens that will let him be really creative and get shots impossible with other lenses. The major thing about it is it is not a fish-eye as all lenses in this range have been fish-eyes and this is just a really wide angle rectilinear lens that has very little distortion even at the 8mm end. You can read about it here:
http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showp...ct/1330/cat/31

Basically the question is not as straight forward a thing as mentioning some good lenses. If he is just starting he does not need the best most expensive glass, he is better off learning technique over spending a lot of cash expecting the lens to make him a better photographer. But a good rule for travel is something wide angle [as i indicated the new Sigma 8-16mm is a very nice and could be a new classic lens which could let him have a lot of fun with his new camera and the camera's excellent performance at high ISO (think low light photography) for indoor shooting or nice landscape shots which are not panos], a nice medium "walk around" zoom lens in the 24-120 range (not those specific numbers but covering that range) and then a nice lower end of the long telephoto range up to around 200-300mm (a good example is something in the 70-200mm type of lense and this should have VR which will make it more expensive lens, figure a minimum of $1200 give or take, maybe more if he wants a faster lens like an f2.8 or even an f4 lens.)

But if you can get more details of what he has, how he is traveling and where he is going people can offer more concise suggestions. Feel free to PM me in case Gary wants to get the thread back on track..or not. hahaha! )